The Answer To London's Increasing Youth Knife Crimes? 'Outside Chance' awarded a Grant of £32,000 by The City of London's CBT
Howard Lake | 14 February 2008 | News
THE ANSWER TO LONDON’S INCREASING YOUTH KNIFE CRIMES? ‘OUTSIDE CHANCE’ AWARDED CONTINUATION GRANT OF £32,000 BY THE CITY BRIDGE TRUST
Only hours into 2008, 18 year old Henry Bolombi was knifed and killed in Edmonton, North London. A second stabbing incident occurred in Barking on 5th January resulting in the death of one boy and the serious injury of two more. The murders happened just days after 16-year-old A-level student Nassirudeen Osawe was stabbed to death during a suspected gang fight in Islington, North London on 28th December. These three deaths bring the total of London teenagers killed as a result of either knife or gun crime over the last 12 months to 29.
That is one death every two weeks. But there are organisations that could help to prevent this needless loss of life. ‘Outside Chance’, a charitable organisation that seeks to deter young people from embarking on a life of crime and violence, has recently received a big cash boost to its 2008 schools project thanks to a £32,000 grant awarded by the City of London Corporation’s The City Bridge Trust. This recent grant was made as continuation funding based on the success of work done by Outside Chance with previous City Bridge Trust grants over the last 3 years.
Outside Chance’s ‘You Don’t Know Who You’re Dealing With!’ schools project seeks to deglamourise crime in all its forms. Speakers take the school students through life in a young offender institution using actual prison clothing, citing harsh prison conditions and the long term consequences of a criminal record on potential employment, training opportunities, credit and travel – factors which may blight them long into their adult lives.
What The City Bridge Trust Grant will pay for:
Each school visit costs ‘Outside Chance’ £500 but since schools simply can’t afford to pay this amount, the cost actually billed to schools is between £195 and £245. The City Bridge Trust grant of £32,000 will pay part of the excess of £250-300 for each of these schools over a two year period which will enable approximately 110 schools to take these workshops. Since each school visit usually involves contact with 250 children, the amount of children this allows ‘Outside Chance’ to reach over the two years will be in the region of 25,000.
Says Clare Thomas, Chief Grants Officer at The City Bridge Trust; “One of the overwhelming causes of knife culture detected by our 2004 study ‘Fear and Fashion’ is intimidation – fear of rival gangs, fear of other knife wielders. Having supported the study, which looked into the extent and causes of knife culture, The City Bridge Trust are aware how important it is for organisations such as ‘Outside Chance’ to reach school students before they have committed themselves to a life of crime and gang culture. We look forward to seeing how ‘Outside Chance’s work will grow as a result of our grant.”
Ian Ross, CEO of Outside Chance laments the needless loss of these young men’s lives and the impact of their deaths on the lives of others in their communities. ‘Twenty seven teenage boys died on London’s streets in 2007, almost one every two weeks. In one weekend in August 2007, four young men were killed. That was 27 empty places at Christmas dinner tables last year, leaving mums to mourn their sons. Our workshops are designed simply to alert – not alarm – young people to the very real dangers around them. We find that young people want information and that is all we set out to achieve. No ‘finger wagging’ – just facts! The City Bridge Trust have now supported our program for 5 years and their input in that time will enable us to present our workshops to over 65,000 students across Greater London. If we can turn around the thought process of just one in a thousand, that will be 65 fewer young men who will enter the prison system and 65 fewer victims of crime’.
‘In almost 39 years of teaching, I have arranged, attended and, in some cases, endured numerous presentations on a wide range of subjects. Yours was, without question, the most powerful, imaginative and innovative workshop I have ever witnessed. Your ability to engage and communicate with young people is absolutely exceptional’
– Deputy Head, Addington School, Croydon
The City Bridge Trust has awarded over £200 million to London’s charities and community groups in the last twelve years to help the lives of disabled people, children, young people and older people in London communities, as well as supporting environmental projects and the voluntary and community sector.
It is the largest, independent grant making trust in London following an Act of Parliament in 1995 which allowed surplus monies from the ancient trust (originally set up to maintain the five London bridges crossing the Thames into the City) to be spent for the benefit of Londoners, through charitable grant making. The Trust’s £620 million fund was built up over 900 years, originating from ancient taxes imposed on London Bridge.
To find out more about The City Bridge Trust and its grants, charities should log onto www.citybridgetrust.org.uk
Those wanting to find out more about Outside Chance, please contact Ian Ross via the website www.outsidechance.org or on 020 8563 7700. Their programme in Greater London secondary schools is open for bookings for the current 2006-2007 school year.
– ENDS –
Notes to Editors:
The City Bridge Trust
The City Bridge Trust is London’s largest independent grant-making trust, of which the City of London Corporation is the sole trustee. Through its grant-making and strategic initiatives, The City Bridge Trust works closely with voluntary groups and charities to reduce disadvantage in London.
www.citybridgetrust.org.uk
City of London Corporation
The ancient City of London Corporation has a 21st- century role supporting the business City as the world’s leading international financial and business centre. The City of London Corporation provides local government services for the City of London “Square Mile” at the heart of London – but its responsibilities also extend far beyond the City boundaries and include paying for and running the Barbican Centre, Epping Forest, Hampstead Heath, and three wholesale food markets, as well as acting as the London Port Health Authority. The City of London Corporation is the sole trustee of The City Bridge Trust.
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.